ACCC opposes standard advertising price

Date: January 17 2013

Colin Kruger

The competition watchdog has signalled its opposition to a proposal that would prevent retailers like David Jones, JB Hi-Fi and Bing Lee from advertising discounts on a range of electrical goods including televisions, cameras, and espresso machines.

Narta International, which acts as the buyer for around 30 electrical goods retailers in Australasia, is proposing arrangements that would enable it to set a minimum advertising price for its members on a wide range of electrical goods it sources for them, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Narta’s submission said: ‘‘Narta would not impose limitations or restrictions on a member's actual selling prices.’’

The ACCC issued a draft decision today proposing to deny authorisation and seeking comment on its draft determination.

“The ACCC has concerns that the ability for Narta to set a minimum advertising price on a broad range of electrical goods will reduce competition between retailers and result in higher prices for consumers,” said the commission’s chairman Rod Sims.

“This is particularly a concern for competition with online retailers, which generally do not negotiate their selling prices down from the advertised price like bricks and mortar retailers might do.”